Approach

Our studio is not a hierarchy of decision-makers. We help our clients identify core questions and goals. We create teams and collaborations that give form to the concerns of each project.

A signature or style is not what we are about.

We are interested in the evolution of a project, not the romance of the genius sketch. We avoid stylistic mimicry. We build upon, and we nurture the process.

We provide innovation in the service of building performance.

CDR Studio is dedicated to ongoing experimentation with materials and methods of production with an eye to the building’s sustained performance. We do not believe in one-liner concepts or the reductive binary of form and function in our work. Form is raw material and innovation combined to act as an armature for the daily life of the building.

We are vigilant.

Project challenges (site constraints, budgets, schedules, codes and consultant coordination) offer opportunities. Persistent pursuit of quality in all procedural aspects of projects is central to our practice. The specificities of project limitations require vigilant follow-through but also lead to surprising solutions.

Theory + Practice + Program = Building

Connecting to a community – be it cultural, civic, corporate or personal – is both the process and its result. We believe that architecture can provide the platform for both individual and communal experiences. Our body of work pursues a level of rigor that gives dignity to everyday life.

We believe that the act of building is optimistic.

The essential aspect of sustainability is the creation of intelligent, long-lasting buildings that offer dignity and delight in an increasingly anxious world.